


thalassophobia [rommen]

by LittlefingersMustache



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-17 18:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14837264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlefingersMustache/pseuds/LittlefingersMustache
Summary: a group of schoolchildren get stranded on the shores of an uninhabited island off the coast of Westeros. along with fighting for survival, the teens must deal with common teenage problems as they wait for help — including love.





	1. chapter 1 — seventh percent of earth’s surface is covered by water

The first thing Tommen saw was the endless expanse of blue sky. 

It was calming. He was able to drink in the sweet scent of salty air and stare up at the fluffy white clouds that drifted across the sky. He tried to remember the last time he felt this calm; it must’ve been almost three years ago, when Joffrey had finally gone off to high school, and he had been freed of one hell in his life. Until he went to join him and Myrcella at boarding school. 

He felt calm until he began to hear screams. 

He blinked and felt wet sand stuck to the palms of his hands. Sitting up on his elbows, he realized that gentle waves were lapping at his feet. 

Yelling, Tommen scrambled backwards away from the ocean, getting sand all over himself. He bumped into someone as he went backwards and turned to see a girl with long red hair clinging to the arm of an older boy with curly dark brown hair. The redhead glared at him and turned away. 

Tommen controlled his breathing the best he could and looked around. Around him were maybe a dozen other children, some still curled up on the sand, some staring, dazed, out to sea, and others were huddled in small groups, like the redhead and the other boy. Other than the people, they were on a long stretch of beach that disappeared behind a cliff to the left and curved abruptly around a short ways to the right. A forest was at their backs, and hills rose above the trees, creating jutting peaks, as if they were showing off to their brothers, the mountains. 

Tommen was still looking around, petrified, when a hand suddenly clasped his shoulder. Tommen yelped and spun around, only to see his sister’s worried face staring back at him. 

“Gods, Tommen, you’re so jumpy.” Myrcella said, putting her hands on her hips. She wore one of her favorite pink dresses, with ruffled sleeves and drooping neckline that was just right so that it was modest and not modest at the same time. She looked like a model with the backdrop of the island behind her. 

Tommen noticed that there were some parts of her that weren’t picturesque — wet sand covered the back and side of her dress, as well as her cheek, and her hair was tousled, wet, and puffy from the water, salt, wind, and humidity. Tommen licked his thumb and reached out, wiping some of the sand off of his sister’s face. She frowned and flinched away, and Tommen withdrew his hand. “Where in Westeros are we?” He asked, wiping the sand off on his shirt and stabbing his fingers through his hair with the other. 

Myrcella looked out to sea. “Well, our tour boat was pretty close to Fishwail Island when that wave hit, so we’re probably there. But I could be mistaken.”

The pieces of Tommen’s memory slowly came back to him. The field trip. The boat. The huge wave descending down on top of them. Tommen shuddered and stepped closer to his sister. “Fishwail is a part of the Iron Islands, right?” He asked, and Myrcella nodded absentmindedly. “Yes. It’s one of the way smaller ones, not usually on any maps. It’s uninhabited because fish don’t come around the place often.” She waved a hand out at the large blue expanse. 

Tommen studied his sister. “How are you so calm? We just got stranded on an actual island with no contact to the mainland. We could literally die out here.”

Myrcella waved an unworried hand at Tommen. “In a few hours the people at the docks will notice something is wrong and come out to get us. We’ll be fine.”

Tommen deflated at this. His sister was right, like usual. He actually felt a bit at peace until Myrcella’s face paled, and Tommen didn’t have to turn around before he heard Joffrey. 

“MYRCELLA. LYANNA. BARATHEON,” Their brother screeched, marching over to them with long strides. Tommen slowly turned to see him. His brother was all elegance, his golden shirt and pants without a speck of dirt on them. He strode over to his sister and seized her by her long, blonde hair. “Where have you been?” Joffrey hissed at her, leaning close. Myrcella stared back at him with an unwavering state, but Tommen could see the fear in her eyes as well. 

“Standing around,” Myrcella said evenly. “Standing still. Looking around for Tommen.”

Tommen winced as Myrcella said his name. He looked up at Joffrey swung around to stare at his younger brother. He grabbed Tommen by the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. “And where have you been, you little pest?”

Tommen raised a shaking finger, pointing over to where he had woken up. “I was still passed out,” he said shakily. “I just woke up when ‘Cella found me.”

Joffrey sneered at Tommen and looseness his grip on his shirt. “Little coward,” he growled. “Afraid of the ocean. What kind of idiot is afraid of the ocean?”

He turned to leave, and Tommen relaxed, but then Joffrey twisted back around and smacked Tommen across the face. Hard. 

Gasps rose from the gathered crowd as Tommen stumbled backwards, gasping, as he held his cheek. He looked up fearfully at Joffrey as he advanced. Myrcella was grabbing his shoulder, shouting at him to stop, but he just pushed her away. He lashed out with his foot and caught Tommen in the stomach, and Tommen cried out, falling to his side. He pressed a hand to his face and it came away bloody. He stared up at Joffrey, who was looming over him, and waited for the final blow to the head that would knock him out, like always. But it never came. 

Instead, Tommen felt someone suddenly wrap their arms around him in a protective way, and the jerk the person have told Tommen that they had taken Joffrey’s kick for Tommen. Tommen slowly looked up, trembling all over. 

It was a boy his age, whom he had never spoken to before. He was skinny and pale, and had curly, light brown hair. His gray-blue eyes that reminded Tommen of the sea during a storm traveled from Joffrey down to Tommen. 

Their gazes met. 

Joffrey reached out and seized the boy by the collar and dragged him towards him, glowering. “Don’t try to be a hero,” he hissed. “My brother isn’t worth saving. You’re just some useless, terrible, good-for-nothing-“

“Joffrey!”

The call made everyone twist around to find the source of the sound. Joffrey turned and immediately dropped the boy, who looked unfazed. He stood and turned towards the speaker. 

It was a handsome older boy, with curly black hair and charcoal eyes. He stood his ground as he looked at Joffrey. “Stop messing with my brother.”

Tommen expected Joffrey to make a snide remark that would anger the raven-haired boy more, but he just sneered and skunk back into the crowd. Myrcella’s face was red and shiny with tears as she hurried after him, no doubt to try to reason with him. 

Tommen tried to sit up to follow his sister, his his stomach spiked pain and he winced, falling back to the sand. He found it hard to breathe, and he gasped for salty sea air. His vision swam as the raven-haired boy appeared over him, now with five other people — including the curly haired boy who had saved Tommen, the redhead from earlier, and her companion. 

The black haired boy said something Tommen couldn’t hear, and the older brunette nodded, and leaned down and picked Tommen up. Tommen had never been held this way by anyone, not even his own mother. It was comforting, and the older boy was warm, so he let his eyes drift shut and he slid into a shallow sleep.


	2. chapter 2 — ocean tides are caused by the earth’s rotation and the moon’s gravitational pull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which one of our protagonists has theee unfortunate encounters.

When Tommen woke up for the second day, he was in a shaded area on his back, staring up at the large, thick leaves above him. He sat up on his elbows and looked around, his head throbbing. 

He was in a small clearing, with a small brook trickling by on the other side. The entrance was two boulders that leaned on each other, creating a sort of doorway. Rocks were scattered around the place, like chairs and tables. 

Tommen heard someone breathe behind him and twisted around to see a boy and a girl sitting on two rocks. One of them was the redheaded girl from earlier, and the other was one of the six people who were looking over him as he passed out. He had long black hair that hung to his chin and charcoal eyes. He was pale and had his knees pulled up to his chest, and was poking the damp mud in front of him with a stick. 

“Oh, he’s awake,” the redhead said, setting down the two rocks she had been fiddling with. “Bran, please go find Jon and Robb, and tell them our guest is alive.” The boy nodded and took off across the clearing, running through the boulders and into the forest. 

“Where am I?” Tommen asked weakly as the redhead got up and walked over to the stream. She knelt down and cupped her hands full of water. Hurrying back to him, she offered the water to him. “Drink, before it spills,” she ordered. 

Tommen did, and he relished the cool water running down his throat. He wiped his lips. “Where am I?” He repeated. The girl yawned. “Deeper into the island,” she replied. “Everyone kind of split up and made camps within short distances. Mostly by house.” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “Which reminds me, you need to get a move on. We can’t harbor Baratheon refugees forever.”

“Who are you?” Tommen asked quizzically, and the redhead’s blue eyes narrowed. “Sansa Stark,” She said, tossing her head and sending her long red hair behind her shoulder. “Head cheerleader. Most popular girl. You haven’t heard of me?”

Tommen shifted uncomfortably. “No,” he admitted. “I’m relatively new. I’ve only been here for two months, and mostly I stick by my sister.”

“Oh, her.” Sansa said. “Her name is Myrcella, right?” Tommen nodded. “Yes. She’s much better than my brother, trust me.”

Sansa pursed her lips. “Sorry, but all you Baratheons are spoiled. I didn’t even want to bring you here, but Rickon insisted.”

“Who’s that?” Tommen asked, and Sansa leaned back to sit on one of the rocks. “My youngest brother. It goes Jon, Robb, me, Arya, Bran, and then Rickon. Jon was the guy that scared Joffrey away, and Robb was the guy that was with me. Bran was the boy who was here with me, and Rickon was the one that took that blow for you.” Sansa rolled her ice eyes. “Idiot.”

“Don’t call him that,” Tommen said, suddenly getting defensive. “He was only protecting me.”

Sansa rolled her eyes again and opened her mouth to say something, but five people entering the clearing cut her off. Jon, Robb, Bran, and Rickon were there, as well as a short-haired girl Tommen guessed was Arya. 

“He’s still here?” Arya said sharply, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at Tommen. Tommen scooted back a bit, intimidated by the older girl. Sansa sighed from behind him. “Yes. I was just about to kick him out, don’t worry. So, shoo, blondie,” she waved her hand at Tommen as if she were shooing a cat away from food. 

“I—um—I don’t know where I’m supposed to go,” Tommen said, looking helplessly at the people around him. “I don’t know where my brother and sister are.”

“You’ll find them eventually. Now get a move on,” Arya spat, and to Tommen’s alarm, she seized his arm and forced him to his feet. Tommen swallowed thickly and quickly avoided Arya’s fierce gaze. 

“R-Right. Um, thank you for, uh, taking care of me,” Tommen mumbled, shyly tucking a blonde curl behind an ear. All of the Starks except for Jon seemed to stare at him with disgust. Tommen noticed Rickon wasn’t among them now. 

Tommen gave them a short nod and hurried toward the entrance, fidgeting with his fingers as he left. He was walking into the forest when a curly brunette boy suddenly popped out of the bushes. “You’re leaving already?” He asked. 

Tommen flinched back. “Well, yeah, none of you want me here,” he said, a bit annoyed. “All is you stare at me as if I killed your pet goldfish.”

Rickon tucked a curl behind his ear. “My siblings are just like that. Sorry.”

“‘Sorry?’” Tommen sneered, crossing his arms. “You save my life and then you turn around and act like I’m the worst person in the seven kingdoms?”

Rickon’s stormy eyes widened. “No, that’s not what—“

“I don’t care what you think,” Tommen said, shoving past Rickon and storming down the path. “All of you are a bunch of small-minded jerks.”

——

It took Tommen another two hours to find Joffrey and Myrcella. He had walked into multiple camps and been chased out of all of them, except one; one girl had offered to help him, but he turned her down. She had been a pretty brunette with a very round face, and upturned nose, and doe-like eyes. He sort of wished he had taken her up on her offer. Instead, she had told him that she had seen his siblings go to the tip of the island, away from everyone else. 

So that landed Tommen trudging across the beach towards the forest. He half wanted to bolt back to the nice girl and her camp and never speak to his brother again. But he still had Myrcella, and he wanted her to be safe, too. 

He came upon a grove of shady trees and nice, springy grass. Oranges and peaches and other fruits grew from some of the trees, and he wandered over to one, reaching up to pick a peach. 

A hand flashed out and slapped his arm hard, and Tommen yelped as Joffrey emerged from behind the tree. His older brother sneered at him. “So, you’re alive after being saved by the valiant Stark clan,” he said mockingly. “How fantastic.”

“It’s not like I chose for Rickon to jump in front of you,” Tommen grumbled. “But then again, you should have been hitting me in the first place.”

Tommen knew those were the wrong words to say even before Joffrey struck him. Tommen held back his yell of pain and pressed his palm to his face, biting his lip hard. 

“Watch what you say, pest,” Joffrey snarled, and trudged off into a footpath beyond the fruit grove. Tommen sighed and grudgingly followed, fighting back his tears.


End file.
